Featured Snake pendant and glass pendant necklace

Not without a gemstone tester,local jewelry store,friend.

 

@KSW, I have a gem tester and would be pleased to test it for you. If you would like me to test it respond here and I will send you a private message with my address

 

That is incredibly kind Marie!. Thankyou so much for the offer. I'm in the U.K. so it would be very well travelled!. I suspect I will be asking this question more often so maybe I should get my own?. Is it straightforward to use the tester and can you recommend a make or type?. Once again I'm amazed at the kindness on this forum

 

Here is a thread on testing kits:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/recommendations-for-testing-kits-please.18018/#post-246340

Many of them would be cheaper than sending the pendant to the US and back, registered and signed for. And it is a good thing to have around when you collect jewellery.

 

KSW, you are most welcome. I have tested quite a few pieces for this and other boards but I can see the international postage would be a bit much.

I have had the tester for about 10 years and it paid for itself very quickly. Plus I have fun when I get together with my sisters or some friends, we test everyone's jewelry

 

Do you find it is reliable at distinguishing glass from any of the quartzes? Both are fundamentally silica, so have always wondered, since this is the question that pops up for me most often.

 

Yes, the range for glass is well below quartz:




The thing I have serious trouble with is IDing CZs. I have known examples that test as glass and I had a high quality one (IDed by a jeweler) that tested in the topaz range. Also, these testers can not tell if a stone is man made or a natural stone altered in some way (heat treated etc.).

 

Thanks. I often see eBay listings in which seller proudly claims a stone 'tested as thus & so on my Presidium gem tester', as though that were the final word in the matter.

Because the minerals that are grouped together seemed odd to me (why are aquamarine & emerald separated when they are both beryl?), I was curious about what exactly it is the Presidium tests for. This is far from an unbiased site, but does say the machine can be good for determining glass/quartz:

https://www.ajsgem.com/articles/do-electronic-gem-testers-work.html

I have less need for telling apart natural/lab grown, treated/not. Will have to consider. Thanks again.

 

It's a bit of a minefield. I've got one of those very basic cheapy diamond testers but I'm not convinced of the results as I've got an off the scale reading for my grandmothers engagement ring (which has been professionally assessed) but I also get a positive, albeit less enthusiastic for a ring and a pendant that I'm not convinced about. Are the cheap ones confused by Moissanite?, Also why the apparently similar testers can vary hugely in price on eBay?.Same product and someone chancing their luck or a superior product? Confused.com

 

They're trying to sell you something, but...

http://diamondtester.org/moissanite/

 

Not sure I'm convinced by the blurb on those with only a very few reviews and very expensive. I wouldn't mind so much but I think there is a real possibility spending a lot more money and ending up with something as basic as I've already got!.

 

I just put it up because it offers some explanation of the moissanite/diamond issue. It seems to me making the distinction between mined & lab grown stones that are essentially the same at the molecular level is often done through visual examination for presence & nature of imperfections, not by electronic testing.

 

Ah, I see. I think the pendant I have may have come from one of those shopping channel giants so although I get a positive either they are very low quality or not what they seem. Mind you it came in a bag of bits for £3.50 that had lots of lovely scraps in it so it doesn't owe me anything I'm just intrigued as to when a diamond isn't a diamond!

 

On the topic of bull's eye agate versus glass, I was hoping you all might be able to help me with this necklace. I'm leaning toward glass, but I'm not sure...

 

My eyes see glass or ceramic. Really does not look like stone.

 

Thank you!

 

You're welcome.

What I'm seeing are tiny round surface pits that look like places bubbles formed in liquid then popped & the appearance of the white having been applied by hand on top of the brown. Stone actually looks more precise: